Replacing Batman—Didn’t they try that already?

He’s getting just old enough for this s–t.

Hey, I have an idea! Let’s replace Bruce Wayne as Batman! That’s NEVER been done before! (Except for a couple’a dozen times, but nobody remembers any of those. Comics fans have lousy memories, right?) Then we’ll put some guy in armor and let him play Batman, until Bruce inevitably returns to great fanfare and reclaims the mantle. It’ll be great! Sales will skyrocket! How original we’ll be!

Everything I just wrote could also apply to the 90s fiasco that was KNIGHTFALL. Bruce gets injured and a new character, Azrael, takes over, doing his best impersonation of Iron Man by turning the Bat costume into some super high-tech, wearable robot. The creators string it out, making the fans wait, before finally bringing back the REAL Batman. They did the same thing with Dick Grayson (call him Robin the First) subbing for Bruce, only without “improving” the costume. It’s tired, it’s played-out, and it smacks of a dearth of ideas. It’s also boring.

That being said, at least this latest attempt, spearheaded by writer Scott Snyder (who was responsible for the excellent “Court of Owls” storyline, one of the best in recent years) feels a little less contrived than the 90s version, or even the stunt of putting Robin in the Batsuit (for the second time!). Commissioner Gordon as Batman? Why not. Everybody else has had a turn.